HEALTH INSURANCE WARS

In this last few days, I've come to realize that in spite of health care reform things are just as bad as they always have been.

As most of you know, I accepted a job with a new company August 17, 2010. The company provides group insurance to all their employees including their new employees through Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The company I work for is doing the best they can to make sure their employees are covered by health insurance after a sudden and unexpected cancellation of health insurance coverage without the right to COBRA. When the new company found out about it, they had us all added to their policy at 12:01 on August 17, 2010 to prevent any lapse in coverage. The new company tried it's very best to do the best they could and the right thing.

One of the things I did not know until this happened is that when a company cancels it's employees insurance, the employee has no COBRA rights. You only have COBRA rights if you are fired or you quit your job. So basically, all of us were simply left facing a potential lapse in coverage had the new company not jumped in and attempted to save us. Yes, what happened to us is beneath contempt. We are people who cannot afford to ever be without health insurance even for one day.

So, yesterday I got a letter from the new insurance company explaining that they were not going to pay for any of my diabetic or kidney care for 12 months because I have a pre-existing condition. So, yesterday I spent a good part of the day getting certificates of creditable coverage from a variety of insurance companies with which I've had health insurance over the last few years. There were several of them because various employers change plans every fall so I've had health insurance with Blue Cross/Blue Shield, UniCare, United Health Care, GHP, Quality Health Care, etc. All those insurance companies had to be contacted to get these certificates of creditable coverage. By the way, I have started a file called Certificates of Creditable Coverage so that I hopefully won't have to do this in the future. This new insurance company wants to go back years and years and years. Now, the truth is that there has never been a day in my life when I have not had health insurance. But, there have been a lot of insurance companies and I don't remember them all, I have not kept all the cards, I don't know all their addresses and phone numbers, four years of health care was when my former husband was in the Air Force. But, I guess I'm going to have to trace it all back before they agree to pay for my health care. This is going to take a lot of time when I should be doing my job.

I spoke with the Labor/Employee Relations Specialist at my new employer and he explained that the new Federal laws associated with the elimination of the pre-existing condition exclusions under health care reform becomes effective for plan years beginning on or after 9/23/10 for individuals up to 19 years of age, but for individuals 19 and older, the regulations do not become effective until 1/1/2014. I'll be dead and cremated by 1/1/2014 if I'm not able to afford health care.

It's a war folks. The health insurance companies are trying to kill us, but it is NOT PERSONAL; they are trying to kill all of us. The DEATH PANELS are here and they are composed of health insurance companies.